


His Butler, Singing

by MonkeyVenom



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: M/M, Rain, barely sebaciel, church
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-04
Updated: 2014-12-04
Packaged: 2018-02-28 04:08:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2718260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonkeyVenom/pseuds/MonkeyVenom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ciel endures for Elizabeth's sake, and Sebastian gets drenched in the rain.  (this is not a song fic)</p>
            </blockquote>





	His Butler, Singing

Ciel Phantomhive sighed for what may have been the seventeenth time that day, being dragged along by his ever-excitable fiancé as she instructed him on what to wear. For some reason completely unknown to the young earl, she insisted that he attend some sort of inane church service. He, of course, knew that any sort of “house of God” held no true purpose for him any longer, as his soul belonged to a being that was anything but holy. Still, Elizabeth didn’t know that, and Ciel intended it to stay that way. She likely wouldn’t understand the situation even if he tried explaining it; he meant that as no slight to her intelligence, but just rather the incredulity of it all.

With a firm tug of a ribbon, the blonde girl stood back to examine her work. She was dressed in a fine satin dress, colored a deep robin’s egg blue which complimented her hair rather nicely. Her hair was adorned in matching ribbons, her stockings a stark white to contrast the color. His outfit was designed to match hers, which caused the young boy to cringe. He was dressed in the same shade of blue, flowing skirts replaced by well-fitted trousers that hugged his legs a little too snugly for his liking. He preferred shorts, loose enough to allow movement but not too loose for modesty’s sake.

“Oh, Ciel, you look simply adorable!” The blonde girl giggled, clasping her hands together in delight. The boy resisted the urge to sigh in defeat. “Oh…but is Sebastian coming with you? I’ve got just the perfect thing for him – where did he go?” 

She turned her head, looking for the taller man who, until recently apparently, had been standing off to the side and holding his tongue while Elizabeth had dressed his young master. 

“Hmm…well, is he?” She watched Ciel intently, hoping the answer was to be in the affirmative. Even if Sebastian refused to wear the lovely tie she had chosen for him (the same blue, naturally), she figured it would be nice if Ciel would take along his usually stoic servant.

“I don’t particularly care if he does or not, I certainly won’t make him,” the boy adjusted the ribbon around his neck, silently taking a gulp of air when his throat didn’t feel so constricted. “To be quite honest, Lizzy, I don’t see why I have to go. This is really a waste of time, and I have quite a lot to get accomplished-“

She stuck out her bottom lip, green eyes looking into his blue pleadingly, “Oh, but Ciel, it’s been so long since you’ve come with me. Why, the last time I saw you step foot inside was when Auntie passed away, but never since! It will be fun, and you’ll look so cute everyone will have their eye on you-“

He rolled his eye as she droned on, noticing the door to his bedroom opening with the slightest creak. Sebastian stood waiting, having put a long coat over his suit to stave off the impending weather. The clouds outside were thick and gray, threatening to spill torrents of water upon the early-Spring earth. 

“Young master, Lady Midford, the carriage is prepared for your departure. Might I suggest a jacket? The weather does not look fair, and it would be a pity to have your clothing soaked and potentially ruined by the rain.”

She gasped, nodding, “Yes, please, fetch our coats then!”

Ciel’s eyebrow twitched, not particularly enjoying the notion that his fiancé felt comfortable enough to order around his butler. Nevertheless, Sebastian smiled not unkindly, retreating to fetch the garments in question. He returned momentarily, assisting the young girl with her coat before doing the same for Ciel. That in and of itself annoyed the boy more than anything else.

“Well then, shall we be on our way? The service will begin in an hour’s time, which should be plenty enough time to reach the church.” Sebastian ushered the two out the door, instructing the three remaining servants to not destroy the manor in his absence.  
\-----  
The carriage ride was far too long for the young earl’s liking, every bump in the road only further increasing his ire for the day and all involved in it. Elizabeth, on the other hand, giggled each time the carriage bounced, obviously enjoying the ride. Ciel wanted to scoff at her amusement, but knew that such an action would only result in shed tears and disapproving glances from his butler who, need the boy remind him, had no place to give him such a look.

Glancing out the window, he noticed the stone building coming into view, looking at it with a half-hearted disdain. The outfit his fiancé had chosen for him was restricting at best, and he longed for nothing more than to throw it all off and recline in his nightgown, perhaps with a cup of hot chocolate and some biscuits. His dream was cut short when the carriage came to a halt, Sebastian opening the door to the carriage not long after. Elizabeth took a hold of his offered hand, hopping down onto the dirt path. The butler extended a hand to assist his master as well, the boy swatting the hand away in annoyance. A flash of exasperation crossed the butler’s face only temporarily before the mask of complacency was back in place. 

“Very good, then. I will retrieve the young master and Lady Midford after services.” The butler drove the carriage a ways away, Ciel losing interest in the retreating form and turning toward the open wooden doors. 

“Let’s get this over with, I would like to be home by mid-afternoon tea.”  
\-----  
With the sermon was done, the congregation uttering a final ‘amen’, Ciel uttered a sigh of relief. That was perhaps the longest hour and a half that he had endured in quite a while. It was far too stuffy and hot, not to mention the sounds of sniffling from patrons who were afflicted with a slight cold that had been going around. He stood from his seat, Elizabeth following close behind, as the two made it outside. True to the butler’s prediction, the lightest drizzle had already begun, the surrounding countryside covered in a thick mist. Sebastian was waiting with the carriage, opening the door for the two to embark. 

As per her request, Sebastian dropped off the young Midford at her home, the blonde girl waving goodbye as the carriage pulled away from her home and down the road. Ciel had only watched her for a moment out of courtesy before turning his head to glare sharply at the wood interior of the carriage. By now, thick raindrops had begun to descend, the torrent making it hard to see past a few feet. For any other person, Ciel might have been concerned that the driver would have difficulty arriving home safely, but then again, Sebastian was not an ordinary person.

He smiled slightly when the carriage stopped, seeing the outline of his manor through the torrent. The rain stopped over the door before it opened, revealing a very soaked butler holding an umbrella. 

“Shall we go inside, young master? You must be quite chilled.”

The butler’s smile never faltered, but Ciel was no fool. The way that his lips were pursed ever so slightly, the overly-cheerful set of his eyes – make no mistake, his butler was quite annoyed that he had gotten wet. Ciel vaguely wondered if his demon was less of a tempter and more of a cat. It would certainly explain quite a bit.

The butler opened the door to the manor, Ciel stepping inside. It was pleasantly warm, not like the stuffy interior of the church. Sebastian stood by the door, dripping wet, awaiting his master’s next order. The boy looked at the man, then at the increasingly wetter floor, and glared. “I will be retiring to my bedroom. Clean yourself up, and bring me hot chocolate and some sort of treat. I expect you know what I would like.” 

The butler bowed, smiling despite the way his hair clung to his cheekbones and forehead, “Yes, my lord.”  
\-----  
Ciel, albeit with much wrestling, extricated the clothing from himself, the blue fabric thrown into a haphazard pile. He had snatched a white shirt from Sebastian’s wardrobe on the way, figuring that the fabric would be soft and clean. He was correct, of course, and the shirt made quite the ideal nightgown. His eye patch removed, he placed the small cut of black cloth on his bedside table. With no further fabric-related restrictions, Ciel sat himself on his bed, kicking his legs idly while he waited.

He didn’t have to wait long, however, as his butler arrived at the door not long afterward. The door opened quietly, the taller man slipping into the room before shutting the door behind him. He had changed out of the sopping wet clothing (or dried them himself, Ciel couldn’t be certain), a platter with a cup of the requested hot chocolate and a plate of assorted sweets balanced on his hand. 

“Good afternoon, young master, I have prepared your requested hot chocolate, as well as an assortment of various sweets for your dining pleasure. Might I recommend the almond raspberry biscuit? I think you will find that the flavors compliment the chocolate well.” 

Ciel nodded, taking one of the aforementioned raspberry biscuit, chewing thoughtfully. The cookie was sweet, but not to the point of drowning out the fruit-based flavors. The almond added a second layer to the treat, a nuttiness playing support to the fruit. He washed it down with a sip of the hot chocolate, mentally agreeing that, yes, the flavors did compliment nicely.

“It’s palatable.”

The butler smiled, “Thank you, sir, I try to please.”

The boy hummed, taking a few more of the small treats from the platter and the cup, finishing his snack in a few long moments. His appetite sated, Ciel pushed the rest of the platter away, pulling the sheets down and folding himself in. His butler leaned over, putting the platter off to the side, taking the blankets and tucking them in snugly around the child. 

“Trying day, my lord?”

“Stuff it, I am certain it was far more trying for you than it was for me.”

“Oh? What makes you say that, if I may be so bold to ask?”

The boy glanced up, eyeing his butler. “Aren’t demons supposed to hate churches and all who serve them? You hardly entered the church during Madame Red’s funeral.”

Sebastian merely smiled, crouching down beside the bed. “I didn’t enter the church for propriety’s sake. I am your butler, not a family member. It was not my place to take a seat next to those that genuinely mourned her. As for the notion that I hate churches, that is far from the truth.

“Frankly, some of the humans most opposed to notions of God and of heavenly things are those that have been raised in the church all of their lives. Why would I oppose the institution that continuously produces prey through its hypocrisy and deceit?” His grin was nearly ear to ear, eyes alight, “Those that know the dangers of my kind and yet still play with the fires of hell are the most pleasing to devour, my lord.”

Ciel shook his head, smirking slightly, “So, then, that’s how you see things. All this time I thought I could hide in a pew and expect you to burn on contact upon entering the church.” He spoke in jest, eyes half-lidded with sleep. “Do demons sing hymns as well? Luring the pretentiously pious like sirens to sailors?” 

“Demons are fallen angels, my lord, we are not strangers to songs of reverence. Although, the notion of using song to lure others has certainly never crossed my mind.”  
Ciel chuckled softly, turning over so that he faced the opposite wall, “Perhaps you should start, then. Might make my life easier.” 

Long fingers combed through the boy’s raven hair, the demon smiling, “Perhaps I should, my lord.”

The young earl drifted off slowly, the world around him fading into the calm dark. If he had bothered to pay attention as his consciousness left him, he may have heard the faintest notes of a song passing the lips of his butler, leading the young boy into sleep.


End file.
